This fragrant chicken dish is loaded with notes of pomegranate, honey, carrots, and apricots — traditional foods served with hope for a sweet and fruitful New Year during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. According to ancient lore, the amount of seeds in the pomegranate is exactly the same number (613) as the mitzvot (good deeds) found in the Torah (the Jewish Bible). If you’re curious, count away!

Yield:12 servings

Ingredients:

onions - 2 medium, sliced

baby carrots - 2 cups (or 2 cups peeled and sliced regular carrots)

whole chicken - 2 (3-1/2 lb/ 1.4 kg each), cut into pieces

dried thyme - 1 tsp

kosher salt -

freshly ground black pepper -

dried apricots - 1 cup, loosely packed

pitted prunes - 1 cup, loosely packed

Marinade

pomegranate juice - 1/2 cup (or juice of 1 pomegranate)

garlic cloves - 2, minced

lemon - 1, juice and rind

balsamic vinegar - 1/3 cup

olive oil - 2 tbsp

honey - 2 tbsp

Instructions:

Spray a large roasting pan with cooking spray. Scatter onions and carrots in bottom of pan. Rinse chicken well and pat dry with paper towels. Trim excess fat. If desired, remove and discard skin.

Place chicken pieces on top of vegetables and sprinkle with thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Tuck apricots and prunes between the chicken pieces.

Whisk ingredients for marinade together in a bowl. (If using the juice of a whole pomegranate, reserve some of the seeds for garnish.) Pour marinade over chicken and sprinkle with paprika. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or for up to 2 days.

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